Telangana Cops to Keep an Eye on Mask Violators

Hyderabad: Masks are going to be a way of life in Telangana, at least till the Covid-19 pandemic is a threat, with the State Police now leveraging technology and using artificial intelligence to make surveillance cameras track down those not wearing masks and then get mobile patrols in the area reach out to such persons and make them wear masks, apart from penalising them.

The move, a first in the country according to Director-General of Police M Mahendar Reddy, is by leveraging computer vision and deep learning techniques linked to surveillance cameras along with AI. The AI-based face mask violation enforcement, as it is being called, will shortly be enabled in the three commissionerates in the State capital – Cyberabad, Hyderabad and Rachakonda, according to a tweet from the DGP on Friday.

According to officials, using deep learning technique linked to surveillance cameras, the police will strictly enforce the Mask On policy of the government.

As surveillance cameras are installed in every nook and cranny of the city, the police will first identify the person who is not wearing the mask through CCTVs from the Command and Control Centre. Once such people are identified in any particular area, the staff at the Command and Control Centre will pass on the information to either Rakshak or Blue Colt police patrol teams, which will then approach the person and ensure that he or she wears a mask.

“The new facility is to just identify a person who is not wearing a mask in public places,” an official said. In order to prevent spread of Covid-19, the State government has made it mandatory for everyone to wear a face cover or mask in public places. Each violation will attract a fine of Rs.1,000, the official said, adding that efforts were to train the staff on using the AI-based technology efficiently.

The DGP’s tweet on Friday announcing the system was thus: “#AI based #FaceMaskViolationEnforcement is being rolled out by TS police. Leveraging ComputerVision & #DeepLearningTechnique being implemented on surveillance CCTVs across the cities is #FirstOfItsKind in INDIA. Shall be enabled shortly across the 3Commissionerates.”

In short, surveillance cameras in Telangana will soon be not only trapping traffic law violators or other offenders, but also those reluctant to wear masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus.